


Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

by leigh_adams



Series: Of Snogging and Broomsticks [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Community: rarepair_shorts, F/M, Halloween, Romantic Comedy, Unresolved Sexual Tension, fortune
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-30
Updated: 2011-12-30
Packaged: 2017-10-28 12:18:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/307806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leigh_adams/pseuds/leigh_adams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To think what these villagers would do if they knew a real witch was in their midst...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> Part 5/13 of a prompt table for rarepair_shorts.

  
_Double, double, toil and trouble  
Fire burn and cauldron bubble  
Double, double, toil and trouble  
Something wicked this way comes_   


  
Torches lined the streets of Woodstock, bonfires blazing every so often along the roads and illuminating the buildings in a flickering light. Children ran to and fro, laughing and screaming in delight as witches, ghouls and other frightful beings chased after them.

Katie's dark eyes were alight with mischief as she skirted along the outskirts of the light, never fully joining in the festivities. Muggles could be _so_ amusing, she mused as a little girl ran by, her face painted with green paint and wearing a black dress and pointy witches hat. To think what these villagers would do if they knew a real witch was in their midst...

  
_Eye of newt and toe of frog  
Wool of bat and tongue of dog  
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting  
Lizard's leg and owlet's wing_   


The Woodstock village festival was a tradition dating back nearly a hundred years. Every year, children and adults alike congregated on the village green to celebrate in a night of revelry; children bobbed for apples and lit candles in carved pumpkins while knocking on doors, demanding treats. The parents supervised the lighting of the bonfires, then sipped on homemade ale and enjoyed good drink, good food and good company.

Katie went every single year. Belvoir, the Bell family manor, was situated on the edge of the village, hidden from Muggle eyes. When she'd been little, her parents had taken her. Then after her father had died, her brothers had accompanied her. Now, with Jonathan married and Lucas across the ocean, she found herself alone for the night.

Although she wasn't alone, not really. Halloween had always been her favorite holiday as a child, and even as an adult, her love for it had not diminished. She could feel the spirits that inhabited the little town, whispering around them. Nothing as substantial as the ghosts that still loitered at Hogwarts, of course, but there nonetheless.

And if that wasn't enough, she could feel a pair of eyes on her back, the steely blue gaze of one Stewart Ackerly. She'd first felt him a half hour ago, following her as she slipped through the shadows.

  
_Double, double, toil and trouble  
Fire burn and cauldron bubble  
Double, double, toil and trouble  
Something wicked this way comes_   


"Can I tell yer fortune, lass?" an old gypsy woman called as Katie passed by her shadowy booth. "I can tell ye about yer life, and yer lovers, if ye like?"

Katie had to resist the urge to snort. "No, thank you, not tonight."

"Are ye sure?" the old crone wheedled. "Me powers are not trifling, lovey. And on this night, they be thrice as potent."

"No," Katie reiterated, giving the old woman a smile and tossing a coin onto her table. "Good night."

As she watched the pretty young woman walk away, her cloak billowing out behind her, the hag's bright blue eyes were alight with a dark sort of mischief. If only the lass had stayed...

Watching the dark, handsome fellow follow after her, his own cloak wrapped snugly around his broad shoulders, she could only cackle and and run the coin over her knuckles. _Lovers indeed_.

  
_In the cauldron boil and bake  
Fillet of a fenny snake  
Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf  
Witches mummy, maw and gulf_   


At the edge of the village, just beyond the last of the torches, Katie stopped and did an about face. "Stalking me now, Ackerly? I wouldn't have pegged you for the type."

"I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about. I was in the area," he said loftily, stepping closer and letting his eye rake over her outfit: knee high pointy toed boots, nontraditional short black dress with a traditional high collar, black cloak and pointy black witches hat. "Are you trying to play up to every Muggle stereotype?"

She scoffed. "This is my village, I have to blend in with them. Somehow, though," she trailed off thoughtfully, "I think you already knew that."

"I am not bound to please thee with my answer," he replied, a faint smirk playing about his lips.

One delicate brown brow rose. " _The Merchant of Venice_? I'm a bit impressed you know Shakespeare."

It was his turn to scoff at that. "Just because I'm an athlete doesn't mean I'm a brainless buffoon. Ravenclaw, remember?"

"That doesn't mean you have the monopoly on brains," she retorted, smirking up at him as he took a step closer. Turning to leave, she threw him a cheeky smirk over her shoulder. "Enjoy your evening."

His hand reached out and grasped her wrist, tugging her back towards him and snickering when she tumbled into his chest. "I think I'd rather enjoy you," he murmured, brushing her hair back from her forehead. He knew he was playing with fire, but Merlin, he couldn't help it.

"Oh?" she asked softly. "And what makes you think I want to enjoy you?"

  
_Double, double, toil and trouble  
Fire burn and cauldron bubble  
Double, double, toil and trouble  
Fire burn and cauldron bubble_   


"Because you've put a spell on me," he replied, his voice just as soft as hers. "I can't seem to get you out of my head, no matter how hard I've tried. What have you done to me, witch?"

Maybe it was the cool breeze, maybe it was the night voices whispering to her, or the holiday revelry in the town, but at that moment, something came over Katie. Impulsively, she leaned in and fused her lips to his. _Yes..._

One hand tangled in her long brown locks as the other arm banded around her waist, pulling her lithe body flush against his. Her lips were pliant, soft, just like he'd always imagined they would feel. His tongue traced the seam, imploring her to open for him.

Katie's lips parted under his insistent coaxing, her own tongue darting out to play with his. Her hands gripped in the smooth material of his cloak, holding him to her as they shared their first kiss. And what a _kiss_ it was.

As loathe as she was to pull away, she had to do so. She hadn't been snogged in so long, she was like to forget herself and let him have her like a common bar slag wherever he pleased. That wasn't her, though. She was better than that, and Merlin, she would remember that.

Smirking at his little noise of disappointment, Katie ran one lacquered nail along his jawbone, giving his lower lip one last nip.

"Sweet dreams, Ackerly," she murmured with a wicked smirk before turning and disappearing behind the wards of her family estate.

  
_Something wicked this way comes!_   


  



End file.
